Makhachev further cemented his legacy last Saturday night in New York City. He moved up in weight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for welterweight gold in the UFC 322 headliner. Makhachev’s struggles earned him yet another UFC gold, securing an emphatic unanimous decision victory.
Makhachev’s dominance has led some to wonder how the record holder for most lightweight UFC title defenses would fare at 185 pounds. During a post-UFC 322 edition of “The BrO’Malley Show,” O’Malley said reigning UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev would likely be Makhachev’s toughest opponent at middleweight.
‘Islam is smart enough to know that this is probably the only fight [that would give him issues]O’Malley said. ‘At 185 years old he could probably beat most guys. He could probably do that to most guys. Khamzat is simply a bigger version of Islam. That would be sick to watch. That would actually be one [expletive] fun wrestling fight. I would like to see that.”
Makhachev has committed to becoming a welterweight fighting champion. While he has called for a showdown with Kamaru Usman, he is also not opposed to facing the likes of Michael Morales, who put Sean Brady ahead in the opening stages of their match at Madison Square Garden.
UFC CEO Dana White isn’t sure what’s next for Makhachev after the win over Maddalena. Going into that fight, many thought Maddalena would give Makhachev problems because of his takedown defense. It was clear early on that Maddalena had no answer to Makhachev’s struggles.
As for Chimaev, many fans are waiting to see who will be the first challenger for ‘Borz’. Nassourdine Imavov has seemingly put himself in the best position to challenge for middleweight gold, but whether the UFC brass agrees remains to be seen.
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